Ari Fleischer Guided SGK Strategy on PP

Ari
Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush and prominent
right-wing pundit, secretly helped guide Komen Foundation?s disastrous
strategy regarding Planned Parenthood. Fleischer personally interviewed
candidates for the position of ?Senior Vice President for Communications
and External Relations? at Komen last December. According to a source
with first-hand knowledge, Fleischer drilled prospective candidates
during their interviews on how they would handle the controversy about
Komen?s relationship with Planned Parenthood.

Fleischer?s relationship with Komen and the Planned Parenthood
controversy was previously undisclosed. Fleischer confirmed to
ThinkProgress his recent role in filling key communications positions at
Komen. He stressed, however, that another communications firm (Ogilvy PR) was retained by Komen to deal with the explosive controversy over the last few days.

In November, Komen advertised for a top level communications position
in Roll Call. Promising applicants received a call from Fleischer. The
advertisement is no longer posted on the Roll Call website, but a
portion is accessible via Google:

According to a source, during at least one interview, Planned
Parenthood was a major topic of conversation. Fleischer indicated that
he had discussed the Planned Parenthood issue with Komen?s CEO, Nancy
Brinker, and that she was at her wits end about how to proceed.
Fleischer described himself as a longtime friend of Brinker.

Fleischer confirmed to ThinkProgress that he would receive a fee from
Komen when the search is complete. Fleischer did not specify the amount
of his fee but said it would be ?substantially below the normal
placement fee charged by executive search companies? because ?they?re a
charity I believe in.?

Fleischer?s high-level involvement with Komen further complicates its
image as an apolitical cancer charity. Fleischer is a prominent
partisan commentator and a longtime critic of Planned Parenthood. In his
book, Taking Heat,
Fleischer criticized Planned Parenthood as a partisan, ideological
organization that receives undeserved positive coverage in the press. In
2001, Fleischer said that the Clinton administration verged too far to
the left on family planning efforts because ?if Planned Parenthood wanted it, the previous administration favored it.?